Paolo Riva

Institution

University of Milano-Bicocca

Current Position

Assistant Professor

Highest Degree

Ph.D. in Psychology from University of Milano-Bicocca, 2011

Online Media

The primary focus of my research lie broadly in social influence processes with a specific focus on social exclusion. Specifically, I am interested in the impact of short and long-term instances of social exclusion, including ostracism, rejection, and discrimination. My background comes from social and personality psychology; nevertheless, my approach is interdisciplinary. I integrate theory and methodology from social psychology with those that come from other areas of psychology (e.g., cognitive, clinical, developmental psychology, and social neuroscience) to inform my hypotheses and the designs of my studies. Currently, I am particularly interested in exploring psychological strategies and brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation following social exclusion.

I am the Editor (with Jennifer Eck as a co-Editor) of a volume titled "Social Exclusion: Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Reducing Its Impact" that is published by Springer. The purpose of this volume is threefold. First, it lays the groundwork for the understanding of social exclusion research; reviewing the different instances of social exclusion in everyday life and methods to experimentally investigate them. Second, this volume brings together different psychological approaches to the topic of social exclusion. Leading scholars from around the world contribute perspectives from social psychology, social neuroscience, developmental psychology, educational psychology, work and organizational psychology, clinical psychology, and social gerontology to provide a comprehensive overview of social exclusion research in different psychological subdisciplines. Taken together, these chapters are conducive to the important development of new and more integrative research models on social exclusion. Finally, this volume discusses psychological strategies such as emotion regulation, psychological resources, and brain mechanisms that can reduce or buffer against the negative consequences of social exclusion. From school shootings to domestic violence, from cognitive impairment to suicide attempts, the negative impact of social exclusion has been widely documented. Thus, from an applied perspective, knowing potential ways to mitigate the negative effects of social exclusion can have a significant positive influence on people’s—and society’s—well-being. Overall, this book provides the reader with the knowledge to understand the impact of social exclusion and with tools to address it across many different contexts.

Primary Interests:

Aggression, Conflict, Peace

Applied Social Psychology

Attitudes and Beliefs

Emotion, Mood, Affect

Health Psychology

Interpersonal Processes

Neuroscience, Psychophysiology

Personality, Individual Differences

Social Cognition

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